I wasn't sure how I would feel about such a long film based on recent events, and thus a recent film. I tend to stick to older films. But this was a fantastic thriller. I think it tends to get mixed reviews because it doesn't take a position on torture of the detainees that it portrayed. But nothing would have put me to sleep faster than a bunch of moralizing about what went on. Instead, this captured my attention and didn't let go for the almost three hour running time, although I know how it turned out in the end. Everybody does.
It has a semi-documentary feel and tracks the hunt for terrorist Bin Ladin over a ten year period through two very different administrations - Bush then Obama - and the changing politics and thus rules of engagement of the era. The protagonist - if there is one - CIA agent Maya doesn't want this assignment initially. She is asked how she likes Pakistan. She indicates she doesn't like the place. She seems somewhat queasy when she first witnesses a detainee being water boarded. But if she has a problem with any of this she never voices it past this scene.
My impression was that the function of the torture is to illustrate a point that director Bigelow and the film is trying to make in regards to modern warfare and what a "war on terror" is in the 21st century. In many ways the film is like a companion piece to Fincher's Zodiac in its serialized examination of trying to catch a villain through information and mis-information. Both films aren't so much about the villains as much as they are meditations on information and obsession; they seem to be concerned with what happens when you have too much information, how one differentiates good information from bad information, and what the morality is of seeking information.
Modern warfare and the war on terror is a war on information. What are the first things the SEALs grab when the kill-shot is fired? Hard drives and files. Characters in both films can't seem to see beyond what it is they're trying to obtain and they're willing to ruin their lives, and others, to obtain it.
These characters are obsessed and have tunnel vision They see only their goal. (I think of that scene where Maya watches a drone strike occur on a monitor as she's nonchalantly on the phone with someone.) I don't feel like any story arc was needed for Maya, all I want are the facts, so I don't feel cheated in that sense. I think Bigelow made the right decision by just putting her in there and not giving us much. It's not about her, it's about the hunt for Bin Laden and how it went down. Why she put in the final shot though I don't know.
If you are looking for a good thriller based on factual events, this is terrific edge of your seat entertainment.
It has a semi-documentary feel and tracks the hunt for terrorist Bin Ladin over a ten year period through two very different administrations - Bush then Obama - and the changing politics and thus rules of engagement of the era. The protagonist - if there is one - CIA agent Maya doesn't want this assignment initially. She is asked how she likes Pakistan. She indicates she doesn't like the place. She seems somewhat queasy when she first witnesses a detainee being water boarded. But if she has a problem with any of this she never voices it past this scene.
My impression was that the function of the torture is to illustrate a point that director Bigelow and the film is trying to make in regards to modern warfare and what a "war on terror" is in the 21st century. In many ways the film is like a companion piece to Fincher's Zodiac in its serialized examination of trying to catch a villain through information and mis-information. Both films aren't so much about the villains as much as they are meditations on information and obsession; they seem to be concerned with what happens when you have too much information, how one differentiates good information from bad information, and what the morality is of seeking information.
Modern warfare and the war on terror is a war on information. What are the first things the SEALs grab when the kill-shot is fired? Hard drives and files. Characters in both films can't seem to see beyond what it is they're trying to obtain and they're willing to ruin their lives, and others, to obtain it.
These characters are obsessed and have tunnel vision They see only their goal. (I think of that scene where Maya watches a drone strike occur on a monitor as she's nonchalantly on the phone with someone.) I don't feel like any story arc was needed for Maya, all I want are the facts, so I don't feel cheated in that sense. I think Bigelow made the right decision by just putting her in there and not giving us much. It's not about her, it's about the hunt for Bin Laden and how it went down. Why she put in the final shot though I don't know.
If you are looking for a good thriller based on factual events, this is terrific edge of your seat entertainment.